A/RES/57/305 36. Invites the Secretary-General to consider including the question of equitable geographical representation in the secretariats of the United Nations system in the agenda of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; 37. Reaffirms that, in accordance with resolutions 41/206 A of 11 December 1986, 53/221 and 55/258, no post should be considered the exclusive preserve of any Member State or group of States, including at the highest levels, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, as a general rule, no national of a Member State succeeds a national of that State in a senior post and that there is no monopoly on senior posts by nationals of any State or group of States, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; 38. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to ensure, at the senior and policy-making levels of the Secretariat, equitable representation of Member States, especially those with inadequate representation at those levels, including unrepresented and underrepresented States, in particular developing countries, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, and to continue to include relevant information thereon in all future reports on the composition of the Secretariat; 39. Reiterates its request, contained in section XIV, paragraph 2, of resolution 55/258, which recalled resolution 53/221, including the reaffirmation of the goal of 50/50 gender distribution by 2000 in all categories of posts within the United Nations system, especially at the D-1 level and above, with full respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution, in conformity with Article 101 of the Charter, and taking into account the continuing lack of representation or underrepresentation of women from certain countries, in particular from developing countries and countries with economies in transition; 40. Reiterates section III.C, paragraph 8, of resolution 51/226, in which it strongly encouraged Member States to support the efforts of the United Nations and the specialized agencies to increase the percentage of women in Professional posts, especially at the D-1 level and above, by identifying and regularly presenting more women candidates and by encouraging women to apply for posts in the Secretariat and the specialized agencies; 41. Requests the Secretary-General, in the light of ongoing concern about the underrepresentation of women in the United Nations, especially at senior levels, to undertake a comprehensive review of progress made towards the goal of 50/50 gender distribution, including, inter alia, the factors affecting progress, and to submit proposals to improve gender representation, particularly in offices in which women are underrepresented, to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; 42. Reiterates that the national competitive examination programme is a useful tool for selecting the best-qualified candidates from inadequately represented Member States, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to hold the examinations for posts subject to geographical distribution at the P-2 level and, if necessary, at the P-3 level for those Member States; 43. Also reiterates the policy that appointments at the P-3 level shall normally be made through competitive examination; 44. Notes that the time needed to complete a national competitive examination cycle from the deadline for the applications until the successful candidate is placed on the roster is one year or more, and requests the Secretary-General to significantly reduce the time needed, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; 5